Ivory Coast national football team

Côte d'Ivoire
Nickname(s) Les Éléphants (The Elephants)
Association Fédération Ivoirienne de Football
Sub-confederation WAFU (West Africa)
Confederation CAF (Africa)
Head coach Hervé Renard
Asst coach Patrice Beaumelle
Captain Yaya Toure
Most caps Didier Zokora (123)
Top scorer Didier Drogba (65)
Home stadium Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny
FIFA code CIV
FIFA ranking 23 Decrease 3 (9 April 2015)
Highest FIFA ranking 12 (February, April 2013)
Lowest FIFA ranking 75 (March 2004)
Elo ranking 27 (31 March 2015)
Highest Elo ranking 10 (26 January 2013)
Lowest Elo ranking 70 (6 October 1996)
First colours
Second colours
First international
 Ivory Coast 3–2 Dahomey 
(Madagascar; 13 April 1960)
Biggest win
 Ivory Coast 11–0 Central African Republic 
(Abidjan, Ivory Coast; 27 December 1961)
Biggest defeat
 Ivory Coast 2–6 Ghana 
(Ivory Coast; 2 May 1971)
 Malawi 5–1 Ivory Coast Ivory Coast
(Malawi; 6 July 1974)
 Nigeria 4–0 Ivory Coast Ivory Coast
(Lagos, Nigeria; 10 July 1977)
 Argentina 4–0 Ivory Coast Ivory Coast
(Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 16 October 1992)
World Cup
Appearances 3 (First in 2006)
Best result Group Stage, 2006, 2010 and 2014
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances 21 (First in 1965)
Best result Champions, 1992 and 2015
Confederations Cup
Appearances 1 (First in 1992)
Best result Fourth Place, 1992

The Ivory Coast national football team (French: Équipe de Côte d'Ivoire de football), nicknamed Les Éléphants (The Elephants), represents Ivory Coast in international football and is controlled by the Fédération Ivoirienne de Football (FIF). Until 2005, their greatest accomplishment was winning the 1992 African Cup of Nations against Ghana on penalties at the Stade Leopold Senghor in Dakar, Senegal. Their second success came in the 2015 edition, again beating Ghana on penalties at the Estadio de Bata in Bata, Equatorial Guinea.

They have qualified for three consecutive World Cups, first in Germany in 2006, then South Africa in 2010 and finally Brazil in 2014. In all three cases they failed to move beyond the group stage.

Ivory Coast has produced several players who have played in Europe, including Didier Drogba, Yaya Touré, Wilfried Bony, Seydou Doumbia, Gervinho, Serge Aurier, Salomon Kalou and Kolo Touré. The team is generally considered to be one of the best teams to come from Africa.

Honours

  • Winner – 1992, 2015
  • Runner-up – 2006, 2012
  • Third place – 1965, 1968, 1986, 1994
  • Runner-up – 1993
  • Winner – 1983, 1987, 1991
  • Runner-up – 1985

World Cup record

FIFA World Cup record FIFA World Cup
Qualification record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad Pld W D L GF GA
Uruguay 1930 Did Not Enter
Italy 1934
France 1938
Brazil 1950
Switzerland 1954
Sweden 1958
Chile 1962
England 1966
Mexico 1970
Germany 1974 Did Not Qualify 6 3 2 1 8 7
Argentina 1978 6 3 2 1 11 10
Spain 1982 2 0 0 2 1 3
Mexico 1986 4 1 1 2 6 5
Italy 1990 4 1 2 1 5 1
United States 1994 8 4 3 1 12 6
France 1998 2 0 1 1 1 2
South Korea Japan 2002 10 5 4 1 22 10
Germany 2006 Group Stage 19th 3 1 0 2 5 6 Squad 10 7 1 2 20 7
South Africa 2010 17th 3 1 1 1 4 3 Squad 12 8 4 0 29 6
Brazil 2014 21st 3 1 0 2 4 5 Squad 8 5 3 0 19 7
Total Group Stage 3/20 9 3 1 5 13 14 _

FIFA Confederations Cup

FIFA Confederations Cup record
Year Round Position Pld W D * L GF GA Squad
Saudi Arabia 1992 Fourth Place 4th 2 0 0 2 2 9 Squad
Saudi Arabia 1995 to
Brazil 2013
Did Not Qualify
Russia 2017 To Be Determined
Indonesia 2021
Total Fourth Place 1/9 2 0 0 2 2 9 -

Africa Cup of Nations record

Host nation(s) / Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA
Sudan 1957 to
Ghana 1963
Did Not Enter
Tunisia 1965Third Place3rd320154
Ethiopia 1968Third Place3rd531196
Sudan 1970Fourth Place4th5212119
Cameroon 1972Did Not Qualify
Egypt 1974Group Stage7th301225
Ethiopia 1976Did Not Qualify
Ghana 1978Banned
Nigeria 1980Group Stage6th302123
Libya 1982Did Not Enter
Ivory Coast 1984Group Stage5th310244
Egypt 1986Third Place3rd530275
Morocco 1988Group Stage6th303022
Algeria 1990Group Stage6th310235
Senegal 1992Champions1st523040
Tunisia 1994Third Place3rd5311115
South Africa 1996Group Stage11th310225
Burkina Faso 1998Quarter-Finals7th4220106
GhanaNigeria 2000Group Stage9th311134
Mali 2002Group Stage16th301214
Tunisia 2004Did Not Qualify
Egypt 2006Runners-up2nd632165
Ghana 2008Fourth Place4th6402169
Angola 2010Quarter-Finals8th312054
GabonEquatorial Guinea 2012Runners-up2nd651090
South Africa 2013Quarter-Finals5th421185
Equatorial Guinea 2015Champions1st633094
Libya 2017TBD
Cameroon 2019TBD
Ivory Coast 2021Qualified as host
Guinea 2023TBD
Total2 Titles21/298639252212891
*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
**Gold background colour indicates that the tournament was won.
***Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

Recent and upcoming fixtures

Date Venue Opponent Result Competition
August 15, 2012 Lokomotiv Stadium  Russia 1–1 Friendly
September 8, 2012 Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny  Senegal 4–2 2013 AFCON qualification
October 13, 2012 Stade Léopold Sédar Senghor  Senegal 2–0 2013 AFCON qualification
November 14, 2012 Linzer Stadion  Austria 3–0 Friendly
January 14, 2013 Al-Nahyan Stadium  Egypt 4–2 Friendly
January 22, 2013 Royal Bafokeng Stadium  Togo 2–1 2013 Africa Cup of Nations
January 26, 2013 Royal Bafokeng Stadium  Tunisia 3–0 2013 Africa Cup of Nations
January 30, 2013 Royal Bafokeng Stadium  Algeria 2–2 2013 Africa Cup of Nations
February 3, 2013 Royal Bafokeng Stadium  Nigeria 1–2 2013 Africa Cup of Nations
March 23, 2013 Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny  Gambia 3–0 2014 World Cup qualification
June 8, 2013 Independence Stadium  Gambia 3–0 2014 World Cup qualification
June 16, 2013 Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium  Tanzania 4–2 2014 World Cup qualification
August 14, 2013 MetLife Stadium  Mexico 1–4 Friendly
September 7, 2013 Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny  Morocco 1–1 2014 World Cup qualification
October 12, 2013 Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny  Senegal 3–1 2014 World Cup qualification
November 16, 2013 Stade Mohamed V  Senegal 1–1 2014 World Cup qualification
March 5, 2014 King Baudouin Stadium  Belgium 2–2 Friendly
May 30, 2014 Edward Jones Dome  Bosnia and Herzegovina 1–2 Friendly
June 4, 2014 Toyota Stadium  El Salvador 2–1 Friendly
June 14, 2014 Arena Pernambuco  Japan 2–1 2014 FIFA World Cup
June 19, 2014 Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha  Colombia 1–2 2014 FIFA World Cup
June 24, 2014 Estádio Castelão  Greece 1–2 2014 FIFA World Cup
September 6, 2014 Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny  Sierra Leone 2–1 2015 AFCON qualification
September 10, 2014 Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo  Cameroon 1–4 2015 AFCON qualification
October 11, 2014 Stade Tata Raphaël  DR Congo 2–1 2015 AFCON qualification
October 15, 2014 Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny  DR Congo 3–4 2015 AFCON qualification
October 25, 2014 National Heroes Stadium  Zambia 1–1 Friendly
November 14, 2014 Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny  Sierra Leone 5–1 2015 AFCON qualification
November 19, 2014 Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny  Cameroon 0–0 2015 AFCON qualification
November 30, 2014 Mbombela Stadium  South Africa 0–2 Friendly
January 11, 2015 Zayed Sports City Stadium  Nigeria 1–0 Friendly
January 15, 2015 Zayed Sports City Stadium  Sweden 0–2 Friendly
January 20, 2015 Nuevo Estadio de Malabo  Guinea 1–1 2015 Africa Cup of Nations
January 24, 2015 Nuevo Estadio de Malabo  Mali 1–1 2015 Africa Cup of Nations
January 28, 2015 Nuevo Estadio de Malabo  Cameroon 1–0 2015 Africa Cup of Nations
February 1, 2015 Nuevo Estadio de Malabo  Algeria 3–1 2015 Africa Cup of Nations
February 4, 2015 Estadio de Bata  DR Congo 3–1 2015 Africa Cup of Nations
February 8, 2015 Estadio de Bata  Ghana 0–0 (pen. 9–8) 2015 Africa Cup of Nations
March 26, 2015 Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny  Angola 2–0 Friendly
March 29, 2015 Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny  Equatorial Guinea 1–1 Friendly

Coaches

Dates Name
1960 France Paul Gévaudan
1965 Ivory Coast Alphonse Bissouma Tapé
1966 empty
1967-68 France Paul Gévaudan
1968-70 Germany Peter Schnittger
1970-72 Ivory Coast Jean Topka
1972-74 Brazil Santa Rosa
1974-76 empty
1976-80 Ivory Coast Gérard Gabo
1980-82 empty
1982-85 Germany Otto Pfister
CAN 1984 Brazil Duke
Dates Name
1985-86 Argentina Pancho González
1987-88 Ivory Coast Yeo Martial
1989 Ivory Coast Kaé Oulaï
1989-92 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Radivoje Ognjanović
1992-93 Ivory Coast Yeo Martial
1993-94 France Philippe Troussier
1994-96 Poland Henryk Kasperczak
1996-98 France Pierre Pleimelding
1998-2000 France Robert Nouzaret
2000 Ivory Coast Gbonké Tia
2000-01 France Patrick Parizon
2001-02 Ivory Coast Lama Bamba
Dates Name
2002-04 France Robert Nouzaret
2004-07 France Henri Michel
2007-08 Germany Uli Stielike
2008 France Gérard Gili
2008-10 Bosnia and Herzegovina Vahid Halilhodžić
2010 Ivory Coast Georges Kouadio
2010 Sweden Sven-Göran Eriksson
2010-12 Ivory Coast François Zahoui
2012-14 France Sabri Lamouchi
2014- France Hervé Renard

Players

Current squad

The following players have been called up to the Friendly Matches against Angola on March 26 and Equatorial Guinea on March 29, 2015.
Caps and goals updated as of 29 March 2015 after the match against Equatorial Guinea.

# Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
GK Sylvain Gbohouo 29 October 1988 11 0 Democratic Republic of the Congo Mazembe
GK Sayouba Mandé 15 June 1993 3 0 Norway Stabæk
GK Namory Diomandé 18 February 1993 0 0 Ivory Coast ASEC Mimosas
GK Abdoul Karim Cissé 29 October 1985 1 0 Ivory Coast SC Gagnoa
DF Siaka Tiéné 22 February 1982 96 2 France Montpellier
DF Serge Aurier 24 December 1992 25 0 France Paris Saint-Germain
DF Ousmane Viera 21 December 1986 11 1 Turkey Çaykur Rizespor
DF Eric Bertrand Bailly 12 April 1994 10 0 Spain Villarreal
DF Wilfried Kanon 6 July 1993 8 1 Netherlands ADO Den Haag
DF Jean-Daniel Akpa-Akpro 11 October 1992 6 0 France Toulouse
DF Simon Deli 27 October 1991 2 0 Czech Republic Slavia Prague
MF Yaya Touré (Captain) 13 May 1983 98 19 England Manchester City
MF Cheick Tioté 21 June 1986 52 1 England Newcastle United
MF Max Gradel 30 November 1987 41 8 France Saint-Étienne
MF Serey Die 7 November 1984 22 0 Germany Stuttgart
MF Ismaël Diomandé 28 August 1992 7 0 France Saint-Étienne
MF Cheick Doukouré 11 September 1992 7 0 France Metz
MF Roger Assalé 13 November 1993 4 0 Democratic Republic of the Congo Mazembe
MF Christian Kwame Koffi 21 December 1990 3 0 Democratic Republic of the Congo Mazembe
FW Salomon Kalou 5 August 1985 77 29 Germany Hertha Berlin
FW Gervinho 27 May 1987 68 20 Italy Roma
FW Wilfried Bony 10 December 1988 41 13 England Manchester City
FW Seydou Doumbia 31 December 1987 30 4 Italy Roma
FW Lacina Traoré 20 May 1990 13 4 France Monaco
FW Giovanni Sio 31 March 1989 10 0 France Bastia
FW Tallo Gadji 21 December 1992 8 0 France Bastia

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the squad within the last 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Boubacar Barry RET 30 December 1979 84 0 Belgium Lokeren 2015 Africa Cup of Nations
GK Axel Kacou 1 August 1995 0 0 France Saint-Étienne v.  DR Congo, 15 October 2014
GK Hillel Konaté 28 December 1994 0 0 France Sochaux v.  DR Congo, 15 October 2014
GK Badra Ali Sangaré 30 May 1986 (aged 28) 1 0 Ivory Coast ASEC Mimosas 2014 FIFA World Cup (standby)
DF Kolo Touré RET (Vice-Captain) 19 March 1981 118 7 England Liverpool 2015 Africa Cup of Nations
DF Didier Zokora RET 14 December 1980 123 1 Turkey Akhisar Belediyespor v.  Cameroon, 18 November 2014
DF Brice Dja Djédjé 23 December 1990 8 0 France Marseille v.  Cameroon, 18 November 2014
DF Adama Traoré 3 February 1990 0 0 Portugal Vitória Guimarães v.  Cameroon, 18 November 2014
DF Franck Kessié 19 December 1996 3 0 Ivory Coast Stella Club v.  DR Congo, 15 October 2014
DF Lamine Koné 1 February 1989 1 0 France Lorient v.  DR Congo, 15 October 2014
DF Arthur Boka 2 April 1983 85 1 Spain Málaga v.  Cameroon, 10 September 2014
DF Sol Bamba 13 January 1985 49 2 England Leeds United v.  Cameroon, 10 September 2014
DF Benjamin Angoua 28 November 1986 18 1 France Guingamp v.  Cameroon, 10 September 2014
DF Constant Djakpa 17 October 1986 6 0 Germany Eintracht Frankfurt v.  Cameroon, 10 September 2014
DF Ousmane Ouattara 22 December 1993 0 0 Ivory Coast Séwé Sport v.  Cameroon, 10 September 2014
MF Fousseny Coulibaly 10 August 1989 0 0 Tunisia Espérance v.  DR Congo, 15 October 2014
MF Jean Seri 19 July 1991 0 0 Portugal Paços de Ferreira v.  DR Congo, 15 October 2014
MF Mathis Bolly 14 November 1990 5 0 Germany Fortuna Düsseldorf v.  Cameroon, 10 September 2014
MF Éric Tié Bi 20 July 1994 0 0 Greece Asteras Tripoli v.  Cameroon, 10 September 2014
MF Romaric 4 June 1983 47 5 France Bastia 2014 FIFA World Cup (standby)
MF Jean-Jacques Gosso 15 March 1983 23 0 Turkey Gençlerbirliği 2014 FIFA World Cup (standby)
FW Gohi Bi Cyriac 5 August 1990 2 0 Belgium Anderlecht v.  Cameroon, 18 November 2014
FW Thomas Touré DEC 27 December 1993 0 0 France Bordeaux v.  DR Congo, 11 October 2014
FW Didier Drogba RET 11 March 1978 104 65 England Chelsea 2014 FIFA World Cup
FW Didier Ya Konan 25 February 1984 27 8 Germany Hannover 2014 FIFA World Cup

RET = Retired from the national team
DEC = Declined a call for the national team

Previous squads

Ivory Coast was the only nation to name a 23-man World Cup squad composed entirely of players who play their club football outside their home country.

2006 World Cup information

Ivory Coast qualified through a qualifying group which included African powerhouses Cameroon and Egypt, despite losing home and away to the former. On the last day of qualification, they confirmed their spot with a 3–1[1] win over Sudan, while Cameroon faltered and could only manage a 1–1 draw at home to Egypt, despite having a chance to win the game in stoppage time with a penalty kick that Pierre Womé missed.

The qualification of the Ivory Coast national football team even brought about a temporary peace agreement during the First Ivorian Civil War. The team helped to secure a truce in 2006 when they qualified, bringing warring parties together, and convinced President Laurent Gbagbo to restart peace talks.[2]

Ivory Coast lost their opening game 2–1 in the 2006 World Cup in Germany to Argentina. The goals for Argentina came from Hernán Crespo and Javier Saviola. Ivory Coast's goal came from Chelsea striker Didier Drogba. They lost their second match to the Netherlands by the same scoreline and were thus eliminated from the tournament. The Netherlands' goals came from a Robin van Persie free-kick in the 23rd minute and a Ruud van Nistelrooy strike in the 27th minute. Bakari Koné scored in the 38th minute for the Africans to pull the score to 2–1. Ivory Coast's final game was against Serbia and Montenegro. The Serbian team scored two quick goals and it appeared that the Ivory Coast was destined for a three-loss World Cup campaign. However, the Africans came back, led by two goals from Aruna Dindane, and won the game 3–2 to finish in third place.

2010 World Cup qualification

On 10 October 2009, Ivory Coast secured a place at the 2010 World Cup after Didier Drogba struck within two minutes of coming on as a substitute to clinch a 1–1 draw with Malawi.[3]

FIFA World Cup 2010


2010-06-15
16:00 UTC+2
Ivory Coast  0–0  Portugal

2010-06-20
13:30 UTC+2
Brazil  3–1  Ivory Coast
Drogba  79'
Soccer City Stadium, Johannesburg
Attendance: 84,455
Referee: Stephane Lannoy

2010-06-25
16:00 UTC+2
North Korea  0–3  Ivory Coast
Report Yaya Touré  14'
Romaric  20'
Kalou  82'
Team
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Brazil 3 2 1 0 5 2 +37
 Portugal 3 1 2 0 7 0 +75
 Ivory Coast 3 1 1 1 4 3 +14
 North Korea 3 0 0 3 1 12 110

Trivia

The Ivory Coast team is notable for having participated in (and won) the two highest-scoring penalty shoot-outs in international football competition — the 24-shot shoot-out in the final of the 1992 African Cup of Nations when Ghana was defeated 11–10, and the 24-shot shoot-out in the quarter-final of the 2006 African Cup of Nations, when Cameroon was defeated 12–11. In 2015, Ivory Coast once again defeated Ghana in the final of an 2015 African Cup of Nations with a 22-shot shoot-out, winning 9-8.

After Uli Stielike left before the Africa Cup 2008, due to his son's health situation, Gerard Gili, the co-trainer, took his position. To compensate of the lack of another co-coach, Didier Drogba acted as a player-coach. This was only the second time that a player had also acted as coach in the Africa Cup, after George Weah was both player and coach for Liberia during the 2002 tournament.

In both the 2006 and 2010 World Cups, Ivory Coast were placed in a so-called "Group of Death". In 2006, Ivory Coast faced Argentina, Netherlands and Serbia and Montenegro; Argentina and Netherlands reached the Round of 16. In 2010, Ivory Coast was drawn with Brazil, Portugal and North Korea. Ivory Coast finished third in Group G, as Brazil and Portugal progressed.

Records

Caps and goals updated as of March 26, 2015.

Most caps
# Name Career Caps Goals
1 Didier Zokora 2000–2014 123 1
2 Kolo Touré 2000–2015 118 7
3 Didier Drogba 2002–2014 104 65
4 Yaya Touré 2004– 98 19
5 Siaka Tiéné 2000– 95 2
6 Arthur Boka 2000– 85 1
7 Boubacar Barry 2000–2015 84 0
8 Salomon Kalou 2007– 76 29
9 Emmanuel Eboué 2004–2013 75 3
10 Tchiressoua Guel 1993–2006 71 9

Top goalscorers
# Player Career Goals Caps
1 Didier Drogba 2002–2014 65 104
2 Ibrahima Bakayoko 1996–2002 30 45
3 Salomon Kalou 2007– 29 76
4 Joël Tiéhi 1987–1999 25 40
5 Gervinho 2007– 20 67
6 Yaya Touré 2004– 19 97
7 Aruna Dindane 2000–2010 17 60
8 Abdoulaye Traoré 1986–1996 14 40
9 Wilfried Bony 2010– 13 40
10 Abdul Kader Keïta 2000–2012 11 70

See also

References

  1. "The road to Germany/Egypt 2006". BBC News. 8 October 2005.
  2. More than a game by Neil Stormer – Common Ground News Service
  3. "Ivory Coast qualify for 2010 World Cup finals". ESPN. 2009-10-10. Retrieved 2009-10-15.

External links